KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — By the end of the season, Tennessee’s second-string tight end was a recently converted quarterback.

That former quarterback, walk-on Joe Stocstill, was one of the pleasant surprises of 2013. Even so, coaches have no desire to repeat the scenario in 2014.

Two highly regarded freshman tight ends will enroll next week, which should give offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian some more flexibility this spring.

Everyone on the current roster except for Joseph Ayres will be back in 2014. Ayres suffered a career-ending ACL injury early in the year. He could have been a valuable reserve if he had stayed healthy.

Receiver Johnathon Johnson goes up for a catch during warmups at Missouri earlier this year (photo by Evan Woodbery)

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Two members of Tennessee’s 2013 class played in all 12 games this year.

One is easy to guess. The other is much more difficult.

Freshman cornerback Cameron Sutton was likely the most pleasant surprise of the hastily assembled 2013 class, starting every game and emerging as perhaps the Vols’ most trusted defensive back.

Who also played in every game? Freshman safety Lemond Johnson was a special teams regular, despite (as far as I can tell) not playing a single snap on defense.

(Note: Freshman walk-on Devaun Swafford also played in all 12 games. Thanks to @donnieconley for the catch).

Receivers Marquez North, Josh Smith and Johnathon Johnson also played important roles in 2013. Some who I expected to have a major impact — like tight end Woody Quinn and cornerback Riyahd Jones hardly played at all.

As Tennessee welcomes a huge signing class in 2014, it’s worth remembering how difficult it is project freshman performance. Even arriving early is no guarantee of success. Of the five players who enrolled early and went through spring practice in 2013, only one made an impact beyond special teams. That would be defensive end Corey Vereen.

Who can take a redshirt?

Officially, six players did not take a snap and are eligible for a redshirt season: Offensive linemen Brett Kendrick and Austin Sanders, defensive ends Malik Brown and Kendal Vickers, quarterback Riley Ferguson and receiver Ryan Jenkins.

Jenkins is battling a worrisome chronic injury, so it will be interesting to see how or if he responds in spring. The linemen weren’t needed immediately and got a chance to bulk up and work out during the season. Ferguson was on call until the very end, but ultimately survived the season with his redshirt intact.

In theory, there are two more defensive linemen who would be eligible for a medical hardship waiver — sometimes called a medical redshirt — if they sustained documented injuries during the season. Jason Carr and Jaylen Miller played in only three games (all during the first half of the season).

I’m not sure UT intends to request waivers for either player, however, because coaches didn’t “sell” the hypothetical “injuries” very aggressively during the year. In fact, Carr was even mentioned as a possible option to play late in the year.

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — When Butch Jones arrived at Tennessee last December, he started recruiting tight ends almost immediately. In the Class of 2014, he hasn’t stopped.

Tennessee was very plain on offense in the opener against Austin Peay, almost never venturing from their basic set. Even so, it’s clear that the tight end will be a big part of the Vols’ offensive game plan in 2013.

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — The Tennessee football team will have its first two-a-day session on Saturday, later than most of its SEC peers.

The academic calendar at UT pushes the summer session well into camp, which makes two-a-days almost impossible until classes and exams wrap up.

Butch Jones and the Vols will make the most of their opportunities on Saturday, going with a special teams scrimmage in the morning session and a situational scrimmage at Neyland Stadium in the evening. Read all about it here. We’ll have full coverage on the blog and GoVolsXtra.

Tennessee offensive line coach Don Mahoney instructs players during practice at Haslam Field on Aug. 5, 2013, in Knoxville. (Photos by Evan Woodbery)

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Tennessee did some team work in the early session of Monday afternoon’s practice. The brief window offered few concrete details, but did reinforce how difficult it is for freshmen quarterbacks to win a starting job in August.

We’ll have more after we talk to coach Butch Jones and players later this evening.

* Among the notable plays from our view of the team work was a bad snap by third-string center Dylan Wiesman, a freshman, that sent quarterback Riley Ferguson scrambling after the ball.

Ferguson later threw an interception right in the numbers of safety Tino Thomas.

Co-third-team quarterback Josh Dobbs didn’t fare better, as he dropped a snap that hit off his hands in the last play we saw of the team drills before we had to leave for the evening.

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Tennessee’s football team went through the second day of training camp on Saturday at Haslam Field.

The weather cooperated again. Those summer thunder showers that seem to strike every afternoon have stayed away.

We’ll have more after the post-practice interviews, including notes and quotes from players and coaches. For now, a few quick thoughts.

* The receivers, as a whole, look better than they did in the spring. Part of the reason is that there are simply more of them, so more reps are going to scholarship players. Freshman Paul Harris has clearly improved. Justin Croom has looked fairly sharp. Among the newcomers, I’m not sure anyone has stood out. MarQuezNorth and Josh Smith have both struggled with stuff at times, but also have shown promise.

* Linebacker/tight end/fullback Justin King was in the injury cage again today, although based on some of the physical work he was doing, I can’t imagine he’ll be there for long. He was joined by linebacker Christian Harris.

* Receiver Cody Blanc was responsible for “winning” the opening part of practice for the offense by catching a short pass in the middle of the end zone for a touchdown.

Otherwise, I’m not sure they’re “keeping score” of these early practices like they were in the spring. If they are, they’re certainly not advertising the winners and losers. We may see some more hitting and Oklahoma drills later in camp. (Or given the precarious depth in some areas, maybe we won’t).

* We heard Butch call out Daniel McCullers for the first time this camp. (See the story about him in today’s paper). But while he left tight end Woody Quinn — Friday’s whipping boy — alone, he did target two freshmen tight ends for walking. “Coach Mark Elder,” he yelled over the mic to the tight ends coach. “Your two freshmen are walking!”

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — A steamy late afternoon practice at Haslam Field is in the books.

Here are some hastily assembled observations from the open media session. We’ll have more after we talk to players and coaches in a few minutes…

* We saw a lot of veterans trying to help out the younger players. In particular I noticed Jacob Carter helping out some of the freshmen. When freshman Ryan Jenkins messed up on a drill, receivers coach Zach Azzanni said something like, “It’s not your fault,” and implied that players needed to help each other along in the drills.

* Freshman quarterback Josh Dobbs looks a lot more like a football player when he’s in a jersey. He looked incredibly skinny when he was on the sidelines watching practice in street clothes this spring, and he could still add some pounds. But he didn’t look out of place among the other quarterbacks.

* As for Dobbs and fellow freshmen Riley Ferguson, I don’t think we saw enough in Day 1 to register any sort of informed opinion. They weren’t asked to do a lot — at least not while we watching.

* We saw a lot of young guys working on fielding returns, including receiver Josh Smith and defensive back Malik Foreman.

* Walk-on running back Justus Pickett, a Maryland transfer, was working out with his teammates. We’ll see if we get any clarification on his status this weekend.